Earlier this year, we learned that Xbox's upcoming Perfect Dark reboot is being co-developed through a joint effort between The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics. While Xbox hasn't said much about this project so far, Crystal Dynamics did give an update from its end of things, claiming that development is progressing very well.
Speaking in Embracer's earnings call this week, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos CEO, Phil Rogers, touched on the Perfect Dark situation, saying that development is going “extremely well”. Rogers also adds that Crystal Dynamics has adapted well to this new way of working, acting as a co-developer working remotely from Microsoft's team at The Initiative.
This is more positive news than previous reports on Perfect Dark, which painted a picture of disarray. Apparently, more than half of The Initiative's workforce left the studio in 2021, and the game's director also left the studio a while back too.
At this point, there is a smaller team managing the project at The Initiative, and more than 100 developers at Crystal Dynamics are aiding the effort. Despite being acquired by Embracer Group earlier this year, Crystal Dynamics will continue its work on Perfect Dark in collaboration with Xbox and The Initiative. It is also reported that Eidos is now helping out Playground Games with the upcoming Fable reboot.
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KitGuru Says: We've yet to see how this co-development effort will pan out, but I think we're all hoping for Perfect Dark to turn out well. It is a dormant IP that has been prime for a revival for quite some time, with the last game in the series coming all the way back in the mid-2000s.